OpenCAGE Documentation

Introduction

Welcome to the documentation for OpenCAGE!

OpenCAGE is a community-created open-source modding toolkit for the game Alien: Isolation, intended to offer functionality that was originally available within CAGE (the Creative Assembly Game Editor).

While CAGE was never publicly released, years of reverse engineering efforts have resulted in a decent feature set for the community tools — it's possible to do a whole variety of things including asset import/export, level script modification/creation, core configuration edits, NPC and behaviour tweaks, weapon mods, and more!

The docs are broken down into sections below. This documentation is a work-in-progress, as are the tools themselves — some things may not yet be documented.

If you have any further questions, feel free to join the Discord!

Start here if you're new to Cathode scripting, multiple installs, the Viewport, launching the game, Options, or backups.

Scripting Introduction

An intro to Cathode's scripting system and overview of OpenCAGE's script editor.

Multiple Game Installs

Viewport

A guide to OpenCAGE's 3D Viewport.

Launch Game

Starting levels, UI mods, patches, and tools from OpenCAGE's Launch Game dialog.

Options

What each Options menu setting does in the script editor.

Backup Manager

Snapshot and restore level files, plus reset global configs to stock.

Dedicated editors for function entities that need more than the node graph — timelines, trigger sequences, bindings, and character accessory sets.

CAGEAnimation Editor

Edit CAGEAnimation timelines — float curves, string events, and animation entity bindings.

Character Editor

Edit Character accessory sets — body composites, skeletons, asset types, and NPC metadata.

TriggerSequence Editor

Edit TriggerSequence targets, delays, and start/finished method pins.

Tools for editing engine configurations, skybox stars, material remaps, and character AI trees.

Configurations

A guide to modifying the various configurations within the engine.

Galaxy Editor

Define and regenerate skybox starfields for a level.

Material Mapping Editor

Create From→To material remaps for models and instances.

Behaviour Tree Editor

Edit global character AI trees in the external Behaviour Tree Editor.

Editors for level and game resources — meshes, UI.PAK, materials, textures, animation archives, and animation trees.

Model Editor

Browse, import, export, and edit level meshes.

UI Editor

Extract and replace files in the game's UI.PAK archive.

Material Editor

Edit level visual materials — samplers, features, and shader parameters.

Texture Editor

Browse, import, export, and replace level textures (DX10 DDS).

Animation Archive Editor

Browse ANIMATION.PAK — Havok clips and metadata; raw extract/repack only for now.

Animation Tree Editor

Browse and edit animation trees — clip selection, blends, parameters, and graph wiring.

Deep-dive catalogues for scripting APIs, AI behaviour tree nodes, and animation tree nodes.

Cathode Entities

A complete look at all entities and interfaces within the Cathode scripting system.

Cathode Enums

A complete look at all enums available within the Cathode engine.

Behaviour Tree Nodes

A complete look at the nodes available within behaviour trees in the game.

Animation Tree Nodes

A complete look at animation tree node types, parameters, and graph pins.

Quick reference for map folder names and campaign mission IDs.

Level Names

Map names used in OpenCAGE and what each level contains.

Mission IDs

Campaign mission IDs, codenames, and cut missions.